Chamber hosts Traffic Incident Management Taskforce

The San Antonio Chamber hosted the Traffic Incident Management Taskforce last week to get an update on the Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Project. The taskforce focuses on improving safety and efficiency of traffic incident response through coordination and cooperation between transportation agencies, law enforcement agencies, emergency response agencies, and the private sector. Traffic counts for the San Antonio Region are staggering. Ten freeways average more than 200,000 vehicles per day. Incidents on these freeways carry serious implications in terms of air quality, personal safety, and the mobility of goods and people in the region. The San Antonio Incident Management Program aims to minimize response and clearance times by rapidly clearing all incident and debris from the freeway travel lanes while ensuring safety for first responders, support teams, and the public. In April 2016, the taskforce initiated a study to identify recommendations that would:

• Create a program to rapidly move stalled and crashed vehicles off the freeways and major streets;
• Provide a safe and secure transportation environment for people and goods;
• Communicate and coordinate activities in advance to provide a consistent response; and
• Maintain as much transportation capacity and safety as practical during the incident.

The taskforce presented six recommendations, three of which will be presented to the Alamo Area MPO for financial support for implementation: Towing, Crash Response, and Safety Service Patrol (SSP). The study revealed that between January andr June 2016, there were nine fatalities due to disabled vehicles on freeways; 89% of Bexar County crashes are minor; and San Antonio is the only major city in Texas without a Safety Support Patrol. By studying other Texas cities including Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth who have implemented an SSP, the taskforce proposes an SSP for San Antonio that would cover 210 miles and cost $3.5M annually.  Implementing a sustainable SSP would require strong public-private partnerships.  The Chamber will continue to stay engaged and keep the San Antonio community updated on the Traffic Incident Management Program. The taskforce is comprised of various local and state agencies, including Bexar County, the City of San Antonio, the City of New Braunfels, the City of Schertz, the Alamo Area MPO, TXDOT and Texas A&M Transportation Institute.